Padres continue to stockpile international bonus money with their latest trade

Many San Diego Padres fans are holding out hope that AJ Preller has another trick or two up his sleeve before the start of the 2024 season.

In a recent interview, he was clear that the current roster was not going to be the one the team runs with by Opening Day. The Padres being right in the middle of the free agent and trade rumor mill even with spring training going on further supports that notion.

So, these talks to add a starting pitcher or outfielder have yet to get to the finish line, and it's an open question as to whether or not they will actually get done. However, the Padres were able to complete a minor trade with the Tigers over the weekend where San Diego sent Blake Dickerson to Detroit in exchange for $500K in international bonus pool money.

Padres trade Blake Dickerson to Tigers in exchange for more international bonus pool

San Diego definitely has something cooking in the international market in the near future. After the team spent the vast majority of their pool to sign Leodalis De Vries in January, the Padres went out and added more bonus pool money to their coffers with this move. They also made another deal with the Astros earlier this offseason that sent prospect Oliver Carrillo out of town in exchange for international dollars.

What San Diego is going to do with this newfound international bonus wealth remains to be seen. While adding an impact player would be nice, the reality is that the vast majority of the most highly regarded players on the international market already signed, so the best bet is that the Padres are going to spread that money around to several players to provide some lower minors prospect depth and hope that at least one of them turns into a player that can help at the big league level.

Is this a move that's going to move the needle in 2024? That's very unlikely. Dickerson was a 12th-round pick in the 2023 draft right out of high school and hasn't even debuted as a pro on the mound yet. He's an intriguing arm with a huge frame, so this's a move the Padres could grow to regret, but it's still a solid one that gives them the ability to add multiple lottery tickets to their lower level minor league teams after spending big on De Vries kept them from doing so.

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